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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Safari Weekend

This past weekend we got to go to a Safari resort in Kafue National park...which is about the size of Switzerland! The lodge we stayed at is not well known by tourists, so we almost had the whole place to ourselves. Unfortunately we had to take a 6 hour ride in a mini bus to get there (we were so squished in there, our shoulders were overlapping). Well worth the trip though! The resort was on the edge of the Kafue river and we went on a sunset boat ride as soon as we arrived there. We didn't get to see any alligators, but the sunset was phenomenal and there was a full moon that night too! All the outings included snacks and drinks, and the all-inclusive food served for breakfast/lunch/dinner was by far the best food I have tasted since I've been in Canada. We seriously stuffed our faces...there is really no fear of us losing weight on this trip lol.

Our accomidations were in separate huts near the lodge, but we had to be escorted to our rooms by guides after dark because wild animals often hangout nearby. The first night there I heard elephants trampling nearby in the middle of the night and heard growling (lion?) early in the morning. Oh and we met the hippo named Basil who hangs out in the lodge once in a while...somehow he believes it is part of his natural habitat? :)

I went on two drives the next day. The first was at 5:30 - 8:30am and we saw elephants, jackels, puku, antelope, multiple birds, buffalo, baboons, and wild dogs - which are super rare (only 3000 in the world, and only 300 in Zambia...and we saw a pack of 12!). One of the trails had Tsete flies (often spread Sleeping Sickness) swarming around us...to the point where I had to cover up so that only my face and hands were exposed because they bite hard! Lots of us got bit, but no one got sick!

On the second drive from 4:30 - 8:00pm we saw some of the same animals, but we also saw lots of zebra and even a cheetah - so exciting! In between the game drives I spent my time tanning by the pool...So it made for a very relaxing weekend!